Bluegills and Belgian Cast

I finished cutting the grass and figured I would head down to a local boat ramp with the fly rod and try out my new sinking tip and the green/white Deep Clouser that I tied yesterday.

Wow, what a swirling mass of mayhem that combination was!  It took a few minutes and a Belgian cast to get things working somewhat.  Introducing a double haul helped even more.

I didn't catch any fish on the fly, but I did have a couple of nibbles on the Clouser.  That is a huge milestone because I never catch anything at this ramp.  I guess my luck was pretty good this evening because I put the fly rod up and pulled out the spinning gear and managed to land this bluegill on a Beetle Spin.

This is the largest fish I have ever caught at this ramp.  It's not fishy, but it is close.

Perch mulligans and a reverse-tie first

After striking out on White Perch on the fly rod yesterday, I tied up a couple of Clousers that might entice them to bite next time. Hopefully, the high tie method will help them to fend off some of the floating grass.

The second fly is my first attempt at a Bucktail Deceiver (BTD) using the reverse-tie method. I wasn't very happy with the shape of the fly, but a quick rinse under the faucet made me feel a little better. Still, I think I may have crowded the tie-ins, creating a fly that's excessively bulky. Fishing it will reveal the truth.

A layer of Zap-A-Gap goo will keep the eyes in place, and also stiffened up the red bucktail enough that it should serve as an effective weedguard. I love happy accidents!

Saturday report

 The hard NE wind had the creek down 1-1 1/2 feet below normal. This worked to my advantage when I slid under the old railroad bridge a little over 3' off the water. I was able to hug the shoreline and stay out of the wind most of the day.

The White Perch were biting pretty good today. I probably caught 20, but they got smaller as the day went on. I also hooked 4, landed 2 Largemouth Bass.

The surprise of the day was a couple of Striped Bass. The Striped Bass were only 10', and the season on them is Oct. 1 -- Apr. 30, so back they went.

I caught NOTHING on the fly rod today. Thank goodness I took a light action 5'6" spinning rod and a single Beetle Spin with some extra bodies.


All in all, a pretty good day fishing in spite of the wind.

Panfish flies

I've tied some panfish flies this week.  The Panfish Polecat, Carter's Weighted Rubber Legs, and some additional flies (L-R). 

The chartreuse/pink flies were tied with crappie and shad in mind.  Hopefully a future post will speak of their outstanding success!